Pro surfer lands world record for riding 78-foot monster wave

Professional surfer Garrett McNamara has giant balls-o-steel. McNamara is a professional surfer that hails from Hawaii and has been a pro since he was 17. The surfer is now 44 years old and has grabbed a world record for riding the biggest wave ever. As you can see in the photo below, McNamara is a tiny speck on the surface of the monstrous 78-foot tall wave.

McNamara was urged to send the video and still shots of him riding the wave to the Guinness Book of World Records and it was confirmed that the wave beat the previous record by a foot. Surfers can’t simply paddle out and stand up on waves of this magnitude, they’re generally towed out using a jet ski. McNamara says that riding the giant wave was a fluke.

He didn’t intend to ride that day after numerous wipeouts the previous day left him beaten and battered. The monstrous wave was ridden off the coast of Portugal where the waves grow into gigantic beasts due to an undersea canyon. McNamara also landed $15,000 for riding the massive wave from the Billabong XXL Global Big wave awards in California.